Wednesday, November 17, 2010

My New $60 Winter Wardrobe

I just spent nearly 2 hours deciding what kind of Keds and what color sweatpants/shirts to order online. I finally have a tiny bit of extra money in the bank, and am booked up work-wise for at least the next two weeks, which means that now January AND February rent/bills are covered. And I am therefore free to buy KEDS and stay-at-home-doing-freelance-work SWEATCLOTHES!

My sudden desperate need to shop came about because of a "fashion emergency" that I experienced several days ago. I.e., I wanted to go for a long, brisk walk and and didn't feel like putting on a regular shirt and shoes to exercise, yet the only sweatshirts I had to wear were UT- and Cowboys-oriented: burnt orange and blue colors. The problem? The only sneakers I had to wear were my bright red Keds and my red/black Vans. Which don't match burnt orange or blue! A stupid dilemma, but... a dilemma nonetheless.

Then a day or so later came the time when I just needed to stay home to do freelance stuff, so I just wanted to pull on a pair of sweatpants and feel comfortable while I worked. Well, when I left Joisey to move back home, I had to wastefully throw away 2 of my 3 pairs of sweatpants because they wouldn't fit in the last suitcase. I'd already boxed up and mailed home my one crappy pair, which was, this week, all I had left to wear. They're, like, 10 years old, and men's sweatpants, and baggy, saggy, and draggy, plus mopey and dopey. And droopy. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and was extremely dismayed. And vowed right then and there that I could not spend the fall/winter doing work at home clad only, day after day after day, in this one pair of hideous sweatpants that would make me cringe and/or cry every time I passed a mirror.

So, with the shoe-color and sweatpants dilemmas in mind, and, once again, finally figuring out that I didn't have to actually try to get on a bus anywhere to search random stores but, rather, could just "magically" shop online... I went $60-worth-of NUTS! WOOOoooooooo! First, ordered a classic pair of black Keds (guaranteed to match any shade of sweatshirt). Then the tougher part was... "What color of sweatpants and sweatshirts?" Pants, not really that tough: black and light gray. And WOMEN'S style!

But then came the shirt-decision -- and this is what took so ridiculously long: "OK, if I'm wearing black or gray sweatpants, then what would look best with those... I already have a bright red hoodie, so I don't need more red... Not gray, too drab with the pants... I wish they had a plum... Well, here's "maroon," which in the picture looks "plum," but I just know it's really going to be maroon...I hate maroon. And here's "cardinal" -- the definition of "cardinal" is a bright red, but in the picture it looks "plum." I really want "plum"... Ended up gambling on "cardinal." And then also picked a nice forest green. The latter not good with the black sweatpants, but good with the gray sweatpants and my eyes and my jeans...(I do so want to be able to gaze into my own eyes as I pass the full-length mirror in my apt on my way to the bathroom and think, "Wow, girl, that forest-green sweatshirt really makes your eyes POP!")

Good lord, this went on and on! Another thing making the decisions hard was the fact that the Hanes site had 3 different styles of hoodies! What the hell is the difference between the "Beefy" and the "Comfort" and the "Relaxed"? The descriptions didn't really explain...

At any rate, I did it. It's done. For the next 3 months of cold weather in Austin, I can at last feel secure in either walking about in public or walking about in my home -- my choice! -- knowing that I'm appropriately color-coordinated.